Friday, November 30, 2012

The Bughouse Affair by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini

From Publisher's Weekly:

Fans of Steve Hockensmith’s Holmes on the Range historicals will welcome this Carpenter and Quincannon novel, billed as the first in a new series from husband-and-wife MWA Grand Masters Muller and Pronzini (Beyond the Grave). In 1891, Sabina Carpenter, one of the original Pinkerton female operatives, the Pink Roses, moved to San Francisco to join former Secret Service agent John Quincannon in establishing the city’s “premier investigative agency.” In 1894, two simultaneous cases preoccupy the pair: a pickpocket is targeting the patrons of the Haight Street Chutes Amusement Park, and six policyholders of the Great Western insurance company have been burglarized. Meanwhile, Quincannon is bemused by press reports that Sherlock Holmes has survived his supposed death and has taken up residence in San Francisco, until the claimant to the master detective’s mantle becomes an unexpected rival. A doubly impossible crime only adds to the enjoyable plot.

Ed here: This novel is so chock full of twists, surprises, humor, classic ratiocination and amused/bemused portraits of historical San Francisco you literally don't want it to end. Thank God the sequel is already on the Forge schedule. I sincerely believe this would make a great TV series for either network or cable. Sabina Carpenter and John Quincannon are characters made for the millions in the fashion of the great BBC series.

Pro-File MarciaMuller and Bill Pronzini

Tell us about your current novel or
project.

Marcia:Although Bughouse is the first of a new
collaborative series, Bill originated the characters in his solo western novel, Quincannon, in 1985, and then continued their adventures
in a Quincannon—Elena Oliverez mystery we wrote together and in a number of
short stories.A couple of years ago, as
a lark, we collaborated on a C&Q short for EQMM, with me writing the scenes
from Sabina’s viewpoint and Bill those from Quincannon’s.I had no difficulty slipping into Sabina’s
voice and persona, and the story turned out so well that we decided to use the same method on a batch of novels.Tor was enthusiastic enough to give us a three-book contract.

Bill:We’ve delivered the second, The Spook Lights Affair, and will start work on the third, The Body Snatchers Affair, sometime after the first of the year.There’ll be more after that,
sales permitting.

Marcia:Invest more time in and attention to your new authors.Give them a chance to grow, as publishers did
back when I first entered the business.

Bill:Quit judging a novel’s merits and promotional value based on its
length. Word-bloat isn't a synonym for quality.

Are there any forgottenwriters you’d
like to see in print again?

Marcia:Too many to list.

Bill:Ditto.Our library is full of books by forgotten writers.

Tell us about selling your first
novel.

Marcia:In 1976 I submitted Edwin of the Iron Shoes over the transom to Michele Slung at David McKay, who had foolishly put an ad
for manuscripts in The Writer.She was
inundated with submissions, and I was fortunate enough to be on top of one of
the piles.She called and told me she
wanted to buy it, but she was about to leave on a 3-week vacation in
Europe.Four weeks passed, then five; I
panicked and wrote her a pleading note, which arrived on her desk the day after
she called again and made me an offer.

Bill:I was lucky enough to sell The Stalker on its
first submission in 1970, to Lee Wright at Random House.She asked for several revisions, which I was
happy to make.After reading and cringing my way
through portions of the published version a while back, I wish she’d asked for
a whole lot more.